Gloriosa — Restaurant in Scotland

Slow service, aloof staff, food poisoning.

Really disappointing experience at Gloriosa on a Saturday night. All started well as we were quickly seated and had drinks and food orders taken. Our party of 4 ordered some bread and oil, an artichoke to share and a plate of pasta each - 3 of these were the same pork ragu with nettle paccheri - and two bottles of wine.

The bread arrived, followed by the artichoke and one of the pork ragus. About 20/25 minutes passed before the staff returned with the intention of clearing our plates when we pointed out that only one of our pasta dishes has arrived and we were still waiting on a further 3 meals. We were then told that 'these are more sharing-style plates' which was obviously untrue and incredibly patronising. Having ordered 2 different kinds of pasta across 4 plates, it was obvious they had just forgotten to put through some of the order (how they managed to get part of it correct I'm not sure...).

A staff member who i presume was the manager then came over and asked us what we were still waiting on (no apology).

They clearly then rushed the cooking of the remaining 3 dishes, which arrived fairly quickly. However, within a few hours one of our party was ill with food poisoning - clearly coming from the rushed cooking of the pork ragu.

Really disappointing experience at a restaurant that has excellent reviews. The inclusion of a 'voluntary service charge' within the price on the bill (so you'd have to cause a bit of a scene by subtracting money yourself from the bill that you've been given) kind of sums the place up. £35 a head to be forgotten, then patronised, then sick was a pretty poor return...

Excellent food and atmosphere let down by the service.

Looking at past reviews it seems the service can be hit or miss here and unfortunately I seem to have gone on a 'miss' day. This was especially disappointing as I'd been recommended Gloriosa by a couple of people. We went on a bank holiday Monday evening and the place was not particularly busy, maybe half full if that. It took well over 10 minutes for the menu to arrive and another 10 for the vegan menu to be brought for one of our party to have a look at. Forgetting something once or twice is fine, but the evening continued in the same manner, with service slow and/or forgetful if we asked for things (e.g. to see the dessert menu, for the bill etc.). I don't necessarily blame the staff themselves - it's unclear if there was any management on duty or how much training they have had. But it is an issue that should be addressed.

What redeemed the place however was the food - really fresh, really tasty and a whole range of different flavours. The decor of the place is also light and airy. I would happily come back if I knew that service was going to be better, but based on this experience I'm not sure it will be the first place I come back to, given how many other excellent restaurants there are in Glasgow. If my review could be 3.5 stars it would be, but as I can't do that I have rounded up to 4 stars.

I also agree with the comment about 10% service being automatically added to bills even for small parties being a bit cheeky. We paid it - presumably this gets shared with the kitchen staff who thoroughly deserved it - but it certainly wasn't reflective of the...

I have been excited to visit Gloriosa for a long time and I am afraid I was quite dissappointed. We started off with foccaccia and it was very fluffy and delicious. It also came with a good portion however I expected a little bit more than just very salty olive oil to go with it. It is common to have a good dip with some herbs and spices.

We had their asparagus dish which was great with a citrus sauce, soft boiled eggs and a delicious creamy side with it. Their mussles toast were good as well.

We have tried their pork ragu, it was delicious. We have also ordered their tonnarelli pasta which was way too salty. Both pastas were too al dante for my liking.

Desserts were a huge dissapointment. I have never had a worse creme caramel in my life and it is one of my favorite desserts. Caramel was too bitter at a stage that it did not taste good anymore. You could not enjoy the creme caramel itself as it was so bland. We were confused as to where all the sugar went. The raspberry dessert was just alright.

On top of that they have this cheeky "optional" service fee. If they want to make it optional, they should let people tip however much they want rather than putting it on the bill.

Overall, although food was alright, the price performance balance was totally off. It unfortunately did not meet my expectations. Atmosphere is not so nice either. I have been to better restaurants with better service, better food and better ambiance for cheaper price. Gloriosa is...